Torpedo



T. E. VAN METRE April 28, 1925.

TORPEDO Filed March 14, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 awwzutoz Van fieire.

Patented Apr. 28, 1925.

UNITED STATES rarer orr es.

THOMAS E. VAN'METRE, OF NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND, 'ASSIGNOR- TO GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

' TORPEDO.

Application filed March 14:, 1922.v Serial-No. 543,786.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS E. VAN METRE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newport, Rhode Island, have invented new and useful Improvements in Torpedoes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to torpedoes and more particularly to means whereby the rate of speed of a torpedo may be set prior to its launching.

It iswell-known to those familiar with this art that in certain tactical maneuvers it is sometimes desired to have a long range low speed torpedo or at other times a short range high speed torpedo or some intermediate setting therebetween. Inasmuch as the torpedoes are driven by turbines, ithas been somewhat diflicult to obtain these results and the present invention is primarily directed to means whereby a turbine driven torpedo may be set to run at any one of several desired speeds. While it will hereinafter be described with relation to such application it is, of course, to be understood that without material modification the invention is applicable to other turbine driven devices whereby change of speed is desired.

Also, as is well-known, the turbines of a torpedo are driven by the products of combustion generated by a mixture of fuel, air and water in a combustion flask interposed between the sources of supply and the turbine. Therefore, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a simple and practical device of the above character which may be inexpensively manufactured, assembled and installed in torpedoes of standard construction without material alteration or disarrangement of the parts contained therein.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out in connection with the accompanying sheet of drawings illustrating diagrammatically one of various possible embodiments of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings wherein is illustrated one of various possible embodiments of the invention, Figure 1 shows semi- Figures 3, '4; and.5 are transverse sectional views taken on the lines 3, 4 and 5 respectively of Figure2 and Figure 6 is a detailed end view. of the setting mechanism.

Referring now in detail to the drawings and more particularly Figure 1, 1 indicates the turbine nozzle which is divided into three chambers, 2, 3 and 4, each provided with one or more nozzle jets 5, through which the driving fluid passes to the turbine blades (not shown) but associated therewith in the usual well-known manner. These chambers are connected respectively with the combustionflasks 6, 7 and 8, each flaskin turn being connected bysuitable pipes 10 with three valves 11, 12 and 13 con trolling the supply of fuel, air and water respectively. Pipes 14: lead from these valves to the fuel tank, air tank and water tank usually disposed in the central portion of the body of the torpedo. The valves 11, 12 and 13 are all preferably actuated by means of a single valve stem 15 provided with any convenient form of setting means, preferably accessible from without the shell of the torpedo, as shown in Figures 2 and 6. These valve are normally set, it may be assumed for supplying fuel, air and water to the low pressure or low speed combustion flask 6 to the exclusion of the other combustion flasks. By rotating the valve stem 15 a quarter turn the ports leading to those pipes communicating with the combustion flask 8 are opened whereby fuel, air and water pass not only to the combustion flask 6 but also to flask 8 as well and the products of combustion from these two flasks are admitted to the chambers 2 and 4 from whence they pass out through the nozzles 5 to the turbine. By giving the valve stem a further quarter turn, for example, the ports of all three pipes leading to the flasks 6, 7 and 8 are opened and the products of combustion pass to the chambers 2, 3, and 4 in the nozzles to drive the torpedo at its highest speed. All three flasks are provided with fuses 16 which are actuated in the usual well-known manner as with the single combustion flask now in use.

It will thus be seen that the present invention provides a simple and practical means for supplying products of combustion generated by the mixture of fuel, air and water in one or more separate combustion flasks for driving the turbine at any one of several desired speeds. While only three are herein shown and described it is, of course, to be understood that more or less speeds may be obtained as desired by varying the number of combustion flasks and the construction of the valve accordingly.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the ist of this invention that others can by app ying current knowledge readily ada t 1t for various applications Without omitting certain features that, from the standpoint of the prior art, fairly constitute essential charasterictics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention, and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of the following claims.

What I claim is:-

1. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a turbine nozzle provided with a pluralit of chambers, a combustion flask connects with each of said chambers, a plurality of valves for fuel, air and Water respectively, each valve having ports corresponding to the number of combustion flasks, and a means whereby said valves are actuated to conduct fuel, air and water to one or more of said combustion flasks as desired according to the setting of said means.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, in combination, a turbine nozzle provided with a plurality of chambers, a plurality of Valves for fuel, air and Water respectively, each valve havin ports corresponding to the number 0' combustion flasks, means whereby said valves are set to conduct fuel, air and water to one or more of said combustion flasks as desired accord ing to the setting of said means, said means comprising a single valve stem carrying all of said valves whereby in one position fuel, air and water are admitted to one of said flasks only and in another position to said first mentioned flask and another flask.

' Signed at Newport, Rhode Island, this 31st day of Jany, 1922.

THOMAS E. VAN METRE. 

